It’s almost 2026.

 

2026 will be my first full year in Costa Rica as an immigration/pensionado applicant.

 

I’m very much looking forward to making the grade and starting to pay my dues to CAJA and the country!

 

Photo courtesy of immigration coach

and dear friend Jon Graham Mitchell

What a lovely almost four months it has been so far  

 

I’ve reported during every day of it since my arrival on September 4th  (except one — specifically, Potato Chip Fiasco Day, which I reported on the next day) so, if you’ve been following along here, you already know the details.

 

You’ve seen some of my best Costa Rica images, too, before now:

 

 

 

 

Wonderful New Friends

 

Dale and Crystal Garrison

Marianela

Jon Graham Mitchell

Francisco

Diane Cooner

Noelia and Luz

Homer

Geraldo

Christine Kerna

Monica Helms

Marilyn Stevens, Paul/Guido Hastings

 Melaney Phillips, Laurie Barron

Dani and Georgia Hicks

Jane Howe

Lynda Rice

Topher Benum

 

The Only LACK in Costa Rica

 

…are the friends and loved ones I left in the United States or who live elsewhere in the world, several of whom have promised to visit me here after I get sufficiently settled in and have a long-term address:

 

Tracey Ramos, Lisa Twining

Edward Smith

Sirkka Smith

Jessie Richards

Judi Cooper

Others Not Shown Who Say They Want to Visit at Some Point

 

Samoel Black, Germany

Teryl and Keith McLane, Florida

Nina Alicia Martinez, Texas

Gilberto and Sonja Morales, Puerto Rico

There are others who have expressed interest but I won’t name them until they actually make flight arangements.

 

The Good News: I Didn’t Hang with Them a Lot in the U.S.

 

Except for Lisa, who I saw at least three times a month, and Edward, who I did my best to see every few months all year long, I didn’t hang out routinely with the people I left behind, so it hasn’t been painful NOT to see them more often than I will probably be seeing them down here.

 

Even my closest friends weren’t joined to me at the hip.  We were always wonderfully glad to see each other when we could, but our lives and orbits were different either due to distance or work/life circumstances. I’m used to being on my own most of the time, in other words.  It’s customary. Which is the chief reason why I didn’t have a major emotional problem about moving to another country.

 

I Didn’t Expect to Find a Ready-Made Tribe/Family Here, Though!

 

(Massive shout out to immigration coach Margaret Aliff who greased the wheels for me by coaching me through the paperwork process while I was still in the US and by telling me about Rainbow Refuge at Villas Escondidas, where I stayed for two weeks after arriving here.)

Not being gregarious, I wasn’t expecting to find so many kindred spirits quite this soon here in PuraVidaLand. But I did make conscious changes to my approach and availability, as soon as I discovered how kind, patient and friendly people are here. My walls came down. I no longer felt I needed them to stay safe in the spaces I chose to inhabit.

 

My first landing pad at Rainbow Refuge certainly started the ball rolling!

 

From the moment I arrived, I was embraced and welcomed. I wasn’t coddled: I was allowed and encouraged to do my own thing as far as finding my bearings and learning to get around.

 

(As an example of the above, Rainbow Refuge doesn’t encourage unhealthy co-dependency, it fosters progressive independence and family-like “I’ve got your back and I will help you learn and locate the basics” interdependence.)

 

I was introduced to a wonderful realtor (Brooke Bishop, now a dear friend), an immigration coach (Jon Graham Mitchell, also now a dear friend) who was willing to accompany me to my immigration and fingerprint appointments and to the bank to deposit the required fees (before I knew enough Spanish to feel confident about my ability to communicate), and shown how to use the Uber and MediSmart apps. I was told about the bus system and about other ways to get around.  And more.  Whatever I needed to know, someone within the RR ecosystem had answers, suggestions, and encouragement to share.

 

You Can’t Go Wrong If You Do Your Research and Start Learning Spanish

 

I didn’t arrive blind.  I had researched Costa Rica for more than a decade, although I had never been here before.  I knew all about its microclimates and what each had to offer so I had a good idea about where I wanted to settle; I knew its history and culture, and I was ready to adapt.  (Not to try to ALTER anything, but to truly ADAPT to what Costa Rica offers its citizenry.)

 

I didn’t want to bring the US to CR. I didn’t bring or buy a car, knowing that transportation here is already adequate and ridiculously affordable. I didn’t want to add to the congestion or pollution.  Nor did I want to build here. I wanted to support the local economy and people by renting.

 

I’m deleriously content here

 

Life is leisurely and relational.

 

In Other News

 

I walked 7579 steps today, later in the morning than usual.  Diane and her dogs Blanco and Dora joined me for two entire laps of the distance, so I was very happy!!!  Walking with friends (animal and human) makes the miles go by a whole lot more pleasureably than walking alone.

 

That’s about all I have for this time…

 

Enjoy the rest of your day!